Myrkur & Jonathan Hultén - Academy 2, Manchester (9/4/24)

Jonathan Hultén's set starts off with an organ backing track and his effect laden vocals. It's spiritual and captivating, mainly because his voice is stunning. When he picks up his guitar, it takes a slightly different turn. The guitar sound is quite rootsy but his vocals lend it a folk prog feel, not a million miles away from Steven Wilson's solo material. For something so stripped back, he is still pretty theatrical in his presentation. His vocals are made to sound like multiple voices, and it often sounds like he's performing in an ancient church as the material has a hymnal quality. It is certainly worthy of worship. However, as is often the case with music so delicate, not all the crowd are so respectful and there is a steady stream of chatter from some of the audience. I find it mesmeric though. Overall, a soothing, relaxing way to spend 35 minutes.

I wasn't sure how Myrkur would work live but the first notes are very loud and reverberate through my body, which relieves me. Even during the intro, Amalie's vocals cut through the noise, adding an ethereal touch. There is an almost Sunn0)))-like introduction before a hefty 'Like Humans' kicks in. The heavy verse gives way to a majestic pop chorus before reaching a blackened blasting climax. Her voice is incredibly haunting during the clean parts but is still capable of anguished screams. 'Mothlike' is 80s goth meets Bjork's 'Play Dead' before it gets heavier midway through. The atmospheric 'My Blood Is Gold' has a haunting Eurovision ballad feel, although my wife thinks it sounds more like Lana Del Rey. It's pretty powerful nonetheless. 'Spine' manages to be both pop and black metal at the same time, with a catchy ethereal chorus allied with a heavy beat and guitars. It sounds like Kate Bush fronting Alcest.  The more straight forward black metal material, like 'Valkyriernes Sang', is great. No matter how heavy it gets, from blasting black metal to lumbering doom, Amalie's voice always makes it accessible. She could probably turn her hand to something even more commercial if she wanted, like symphonic metal for example, but I'm glad she hasn't. Jonathan Hultén joins onstage for the fantastic traditional folk song 'House Carpenter'. The second half of the set is much folkier than the first half. The backing vocalist is very good too, and the call and response of the two singers at the beginning of the final song of the regular set is fantastic.

Myrkur ****

Jonathan Hultén ****